Providing just concepts for some of the most well known clients in the world in and of itself is enormously successful. Beyond this, 37 prestigious awards for recognition of talent and impeccable design tactics. Two extraordinary people started this company in ’97, combining technological complexity with a sense of humanity. (1)
Intelligent product designers, Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa, created their firm with a hazy distinction between installation and product. From prototype to furniture design, communication concepts to Haagan-Dazs beverage trays, this company became NYC recognized just 2 years after their founding. They explore technology design, human interaction, commercial design, as well as experiment with conceptual designs.
One of their earliest projects was with the MTA/NYC transit lines. Regarding technology design, they created the user-friendly touch screen interface still used 10 years later. Following this, the JetBlue vending machine interface, “The Door” at the Walker Art Center, Bloomingdale’s POWER FLOWER motion sensors, and many other electronic pieces of art. Ben Galbraith’s blog quotes Moesligner regarding their Door project, “To try and make websites appealing in the context of a museum with a bunch of other physical, real objects, we made this beautiful transparent door that you push. Every 15 degrees, a new website shows up on the display”. (3) These projects show the designers connection with human emotion and reaction. Many of their other developments convey this exploration.
When bustling onto the subway, the last thing most people notice is the design of their train and the feel they are obtaining from its atmosphere. Usually people are concerned with where they are going or who is around them. ANTENNA, however, designed solely with these passengers in mind. Human interaction: a person’s subconscious attitude in a better environment. “The essence is to lead people; design is the embodiment of the right information at the right time." –Sigi. Design to help others?
Commercially, Antenna worked with Bloomingdale’s by creating interactive flower logos that illuminated as an observer walked by. They designed office furniture for Knoll as well as Bloomberg hardware design. Their clients work with them to be used-focused and identity savvy. Sometimes they can use opportunities to think outside the box, experiment, and conceptualize.
One conceptual exploration of ideas is their NYC Streetlife. They came up with ideas such as, Don’t Walk signs on streets showing exercises to do while waiting; a way to use the time without wasting it, to prevent jaywalking as well as a way to encourage people to strike up conversation. Also, they have a concept for built-in signs where people could sit underneath to write messages. This would encourage better behavior for people who want to express themselves publicly. (3) With a physical and direct approach, Antenna is researching the different reactions of humans. In understanding all types of people, they recognize this will help further produce art that can cause pleasurable reaction.
Sigi selflessly explains, “We are always in the situation of creating things for situations that we don’t know, so you need to do research, build prototypes, and study how people react to them.”(3) A designer should please its client, yes, but it is imperative to understand exactly WHO will be experiencing the product’s end result, how they may react, and, as Antenna successfully experimented, if it makes the user feel a positive emotion such contentment or enlightenment. Quoting Bloomberg’s design director, Raquel Tudela, "at this point, their egos could be through the roof. But they wanted to understand who we are and work according to that.”
This happened to be the perfect company for someone like me to research. All I ever ponder about is the relationship between fine art and design aesthetics. How far they can coincide? Quoting Senior Vide President of Knoll in Businessweek, “’They aren't afraid of the tenuous line between art and design.’ It's precisely this fearlessness that has carried the little firm into big business.” (4)
This quote is so relieving to read for someone like me; constantly pondering what amount of success can come about from that correlation. Not only did they do that for me, but this pair proved it is not all business and money-making. Their FIRST priority is to make others react positively. That quality in a big business will gain anyone’s respect.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
"Contrail is a device that applies chalk to the rear tire of your bike, leaving a trail behind you. It leaves trails for motorists and other cyclists to see, enabling bikers to "reclaim this crucial shared space." I'm not sure where you can get one or if it's even been physically realized, but I like the idea. It's like a cross between the prototype for the projected bike lane symbol and Bikes Against Bush, which sprayed chalk according to text messages. Via Cool Hunting."
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/03/bike_accessory_leaves_a_trail_of_ch.html
Thursday, April 15, 2010
clever logo designs
LOGOS
We've all found ourselves stuck when it comes to identity design. What style does the client expect or desire? How will your logo be relevant to its product, and will it express the correct message to viewers?
We've all found ourselves stuck when it comes to identity design. What style does the client expect or desire? How will your logo be relevant to its product, and will it express the correct message to viewers?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
crop
black and White
add white space
break borders
play with scale
change the size of the final piece
lose the art - use a type treatment :(
sillhouette
8 LITTLE DESIGN SECRETS
black and White
add white space
break borders
play with scale
change the size of the final piece
lose the art - use a type treatment :(
sillhouette
8 LITTLE DESIGN SECRETS
"CSS sprites save HTTP requests by using CSS positioning to selectively display composite background images. To maximize accessibility and usability, CSS sprites are best used for icons or decorative effects."
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets -it is a simple mechanism for adding style (e.g. fonts, colors, spacing) to Web documents. I looked it up because I still don't fully understand it.
According to Wikipedia: CSS can be used locally by the readers of web pages to define colors, fonts, layout, and other aspects of document presentation. It is designed primarily to enable the separation of document content (written in HTML or a similar markup language) from document presentation (written in CSS). This separation can improve content accessibility, provide more flexibility and control in the specification of presentation characteristics, and reduce complexity and repetition in the structural content (such as by allowing for tableless web design). CSS can also allow the same markup page to be presented in different styles for different rendering methods, such as on-screen, in print, by voice (when read out by a speech-based browser or screen reader) and on Braille-based, tactile devices. CSS specifies a priority scheme to determine which style rules apply if more than one rule matches against a particular element. In this so-called cascade, priorities or weights are calculated and assigned to rules, so that the results are predictable.
http://www.noupe.com/design/101-css-techniques-of-all-time-part-1.html
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets -it is a simple mechanism for adding style (e.g. fonts, colors, spacing) to Web documents. I looked it up because I still don't fully understand it.
According to Wikipedia: CSS can be used locally by the readers of web pages to define colors, fonts, layout, and other aspects of document presentation. It is designed primarily to enable the separation of document content (written in HTML or a similar markup language) from document presentation (written in CSS). This separation can improve content accessibility, provide more flexibility and control in the specification of presentation characteristics, and reduce complexity and repetition in the structural content (such as by allowing for tableless web design). CSS can also allow the same markup page to be presented in different styles for different rendering methods, such as on-screen, in print, by voice (when read out by a speech-based browser or screen reader) and on Braille-based, tactile devices. CSS specifies a priority scheme to determine which style rules apply if more than one rule matches against a particular element. In this so-called cascade, priorities or weights are calculated and assigned to rules, so that the results are predictable.
http://www.noupe.com/design/101-css-techniques-of-all-time-part-1.html
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A major film studio is a movie production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box-office revenues in a given market. In the North American, Western, and global markets, the major film studios, often simply known as the majors, are commonly regarded as the six diversified media conglomerates whose various movie production and distribution subsidiaries command approximately 90 percent of the U.S. and Canadian box office. The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary movie business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate. The "Big Six" majors, whose movie operations are based in or around Hollywood, are all centered in film studios active during Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. In three cases—20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount—the studios were one of the "Big Five" majors during that era as well. In two cases—Columbia and Universal—the studios were also considered majors, but in the next tier down, part of the "Little Three." In the sixth case, Walt Disney Studios was an independent production company during the Golden Age; it was an important Hollywood entity, but not a major.
looney tunes
In the early 1950s, Warner Bros. sold its black-and-white Looney Tunes (plus the first Merrie Melody, Lady, Play Your Mandolin!, and the B&W Merrie Melodies made after Harman and Ising left) to Sunset Productions. Warner insisted that the opening and closing titles be changed to remove all references to Warner Bros. The cartoons were distributed by Guild Films until it was sold to Motion Pictures for Television. In the 1960s, Seven Arts Productions bought that company. In 1967, Seven Arts merged with Warner Bros. to create Warner Bros.-Seven Arts thus putting those films back in Warner's ownership.[12]
In 1957, Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) acquired for television most of Warner Bros.' pre-1950[13][14] library, including all Merrie Melodies (except for those sold to Sunset) and color Looney Tunes shorts that were released prior to August 1948. Unlike the sale to Sunset Productions, a.a.p. was allowed to keep the Warner titles intact and simply inserted an "Associated Artists Productions presents" title at the head of each reel so each Merrie Melodie cartoon had the song "Merrily We Roll Along" playing twice[15] (while each Looney Tune had both opening songs each playing once[16]).[17] a.a.p. was later sold to United Artists, who merged the company into its television division—United Artists Television.
In 1981, UA was sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and five years later, Ted Turner acquired the MGM library—which also included U.S. rights to the RKO Pictures library, in addition to its own pre-1986 material, the classic Warner Bros. library, and some of UA's own product, in an attempt to take over MGM. Turner's company, Turner Broadcasting System (whose Turner Entertainment division oversaw the film library), merged with Time Warner in 1996, thus the classic library was once again under ownership of WB (although technically they are owned by Turner, with WB handling sales and distribution).
All the while, starting in 1967 WB was able to retain the rights to "Lady Play Your Mandolin" and the black-and-white Looney Tunes, even though a number of them fell into the public domain (WB holds the original film elements)—a majority of these public domain shorts have been released on many low-budget independent home video labels. As of 2006, all WB's animated output (including the post-'48 shorts WB also kept) are under the same Time Warner umbrella of ownership.
UA (under the pre-WB/Turner-merger management of MGM/UA Home Video) officially released numerous compilations of the classic pre-8/48 cartoons on VHS and LaserDisc, most of these under the title The Golden Age of Looney Tunes. Today, Warner Home Video holds the video rights to the entire Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies animated output by virtue of WB's ownership of Turner Entertainment—this is why their Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD box sets include cartoons from both the pre-8/48 Turner-owned and post-7/48 WB owned periods.
In 1957, Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) acquired for television most of Warner Bros.' pre-1950[13][14] library, including all Merrie Melodies (except for those sold to Sunset) and color Looney Tunes shorts that were released prior to August 1948. Unlike the sale to Sunset Productions, a.a.p. was allowed to keep the Warner titles intact and simply inserted an "Associated Artists Productions presents" title at the head of each reel so each Merrie Melodie cartoon had the song "Merrily We Roll Along" playing twice[15] (while each Looney Tune had both opening songs each playing once[16]).[17] a.a.p. was later sold to United Artists, who merged the company into its television division—United Artists Television.
In 1981, UA was sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and five years later, Ted Turner acquired the MGM library—which also included U.S. rights to the RKO Pictures library, in addition to its own pre-1986 material, the classic Warner Bros. library, and some of UA's own product, in an attempt to take over MGM. Turner's company, Turner Broadcasting System (whose Turner Entertainment division oversaw the film library), merged with Time Warner in 1996, thus the classic library was once again under ownership of WB (although technically they are owned by Turner, with WB handling sales and distribution).
All the while, starting in 1967 WB was able to retain the rights to "Lady Play Your Mandolin" and the black-and-white Looney Tunes, even though a number of them fell into the public domain (WB holds the original film elements)—a majority of these public domain shorts have been released on many low-budget independent home video labels. As of 2006, all WB's animated output (including the post-'48 shorts WB also kept) are under the same Time Warner umbrella of ownership.
UA (under the pre-WB/Turner-merger management of MGM/UA Home Video) officially released numerous compilations of the classic pre-8/48 cartoons on VHS and LaserDisc, most of these under the title The Golden Age of Looney Tunes. Today, Warner Home Video holds the video rights to the entire Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies animated output by virtue of WB's ownership of Turner Entertainment—this is why their Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD box sets include cartoons from both the pre-8/48 Turner-owned and post-7/48 WB owned periods.
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture or video program, although several other forms of presenting animation also exist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation#Early_examples
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation#Early_examples
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/understandingwebdesign
"Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity."
They claim in this article website design is not book design, poster design, or illustration. In my opinion - it is a mixture of complete knowledge of these skills as well as confidently understanding technology. So much for me to learn. I've decided though - this is what I want to do.
"Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity."
They claim in this article website design is not book design, poster design, or illustration. In my opinion - it is a mixture of complete knowledge of these skills as well as confidently understanding technology. So much for me to learn. I've decided though - this is what I want to do.
I read a brief statement about mind reading on http://www.pantopicon.be/blog/2009/01/09/mindreading/
“[...] has used an image of brain activity taken in a functional MRI scanner to recreate a black-and-white image from scratch. “By analysing the brain signals when someone is seeing an image, we can reconstruct that image,” says Kamitani. This means that the mind reading isn’t limited to a selection of existing images, but could potentially be used to “read off” anything that someone was thinking of, without prior knowledge of what that might be.”
“[...] has used an image of brain activity taken in a functional MRI scanner to recreate a black-and-white image from scratch. “By analysing the brain signals when someone is seeing an image, we can reconstruct that image,” says Kamitani. This means that the mind reading isn’t limited to a selection of existing images, but could potentially be used to “read off” anything that someone was thinking of, without prior knowledge of what that might be.”
set clear goals
organize the pages
layout the pages
develop a personality
define the fit and finish
design confidently
"Creativity breathes life into successful websites. However, creative ideas and solutions can sometimes seem like guesswork—and guessing is risky business. So what can designers do to show clients they’re using a solid strategy and have the best intentions? The following exercises are a great way to start discussing and documenting aspects of design to help clients shed their fear of creativity and encourage them to join the design process."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/taking-the-guesswork-out-of-design/
organize the pages
layout the pages
develop a personality
define the fit and finish
design confidently
"Creativity breathes life into successful websites. However, creative ideas and solutions can sometimes seem like guesswork—and guessing is risky business. So what can designers do to show clients they’re using a solid strategy and have the best intentions? The following exercises are a great way to start discussing and documenting aspects of design to help clients shed their fear of creativity and encourage them to join the design process."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/taking-the-guesswork-out-of-design/
why aesthetics?
"aesthetics is concerned with anything that appeals to the senses—not just what we see, but what we hear, smell, taste, and feel. In short, how we perceive and interpret the world. As user experience professionals, we must consider every stimulus that might influence interactions."
“...emotion is not a luxury: it is an expression of basic mechanisms of life regulation developed in evolution, and is indispensable for survival. It plays a critical role in virtually all aspects of learning, reasoning, and creativity. Somewhat surprisingly, it may play a role in the construction of consciousness.”
Design is about appeal and trust. Beauty and truth. Simplicity.
“...emotion is not a luxury: it is an expression of basic mechanisms of life regulation developed in evolution, and is indispensable for survival. It plays a critical role in virtually all aspects of learning, reasoning, and creativity. Somewhat surprisingly, it may play a role in the construction of consciousness.”
Design is about appeal and trust. Beauty and truth. Simplicity.
Tom Dixon, has created furniture made from flame cut steel. The collection includes a swing seat, table, chair, chaise lounge, and baby's high chair. The process he used to make this furniture is traditionally used for creating tanks, submarines, and bank safes. The furniture is solid enough to last for the next 1000 years and be able to resist a world war.
On the website core77.com they have one hour challenges. The article I read was about the Design a sneaker for cycling. The reason I wanted to read this article is because I usually get stumped and it takes me days before starting a project. I wanted to read and find out how these people are able to think of an idea and complete it in one hour. The one that I really liked was the yellow Nike livestrong one. I like that you can see the inspiration of the bike helmet in the design of the shoe.
Second place was Laura Cahill with Book Vases. Vases made of discarded books glued to test tubes.
Third place Yarn from old newspapers by Greetje van Tiem.
Fourth place was Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design graduate Kacper Hamilton with Seven Deadly Glasses, wine glasses inspired by the seven deadly sins.
Fifth place was designer Sarah Schneider with her design for a medical rehab center in Austrian. Asemic Scapes- Rehabilitation Center Rainberg.
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